The NEOTIE Group was formed by a small group of
Technology Directors in Northeast Ohio with the mission
to create a group that is banded together to provide
students, teachers and staff with the best educational
technology possible. The goal is to share knowledge and
resources through quarterly meetings and annual
conferences. The goal is to grow a community of
learners beyond the classroom, district, region to become
global learners!

@MoreThanATech
9 Tips for Effective
Technology By Mike
Professional Daugherty
Development
Designing effective professional development for
teachers is no small order. As many technology
integrationists can tell you, teachers can be the
worst students. In order to have an impact,
your lessons must be relevant and engaging.
Sound familiar? Here are nine tips to creating
effective technology professional development
sessions.

Know Your Audience

Effective professional development is
personalized. It’s crucial to know who you are
teaching to and what they’re skill level is. You’ll
want to design your session to fit the skill set
of the people in the room. A simple survey
can go a long way toward helping you create
a meaningful workshop. Prior to the meeting,
send a short three question survey to everyone
you expect to attend. The survey should
include a question or two to gauge their level of
knowledge in the application or tool as well as
an inquiry into what they hope to learn during
their time with you. Adjust your teaching outline
based on what you learned from the survey.
Start with a Clear, Focused Objective
Teachers need to have a clear expectation of
what they will be learning. The objective of the
lesson should be well defined. For example,
telling the group they’ll be learning “Google
Forms” is vague. Instead, explain what the
technology is and how they can use it. A better
description to your audience would be “Using
Google Forms to Collect Summative Data in Your
Classroom.” Your session attendees receive
a clear, focused explanation of what they can
expect to learn.

Align with the Long Term Vision

Make sure that the topic of your professional
development session is aligned with the long
term vision of the school district. Too often
these workshops are focused on the latest trend
in education. Select topics that are associated
with where the district is headed as it relates to
technology. Be sure to let your audience know
how this session is integrated with the overall
plan.

Check Your Work

This one I see all too often in professional
development sessions. I know I’ve been
guilty of this myself. Here’s the scenario: The
instructor goes to use a tool or demonstrate
a feature and it doesn’t work because the
application has changed since the last time
they taught this lesson. Confidence in both the
software and the instructor is immediately put in
question, not to mention that the session outline
is thrown off track by this unexpected bump
in the road. Web apps of today are not like
the traditional software packages of the past.
These apps change, update, and add features
on a regular basis without much notice. When
you know you’re teaching a lesson, be sure to
run through the application prior to the start.
Five minutes of prep work can make a huge
difference in the success of your session.

Create Actual Lessons

One of the most effective ways to engage
teachers is to structure your session around
creating a real lesson they can use in class.
Making a sample assessment is good, but

an external webcam into the lower right hand
corner as well. Taking it a step further, use a
tool like EdPuzzle to embed questions into the
video then analyze the response data as a way
to improve your teaching style. Recording your
sessions is a no hassle, free method to take your
professional development to the next level.

Ongoing Support
building an actual assessment is outstanding.
A great way to ensure success is to ask
participants to bring a worksheet or lesson with
them from their classroom. Teachers constantly
struggle with finding the time to learn new
technologies. By building a session with their
lessons and worksheets in mind, your audience
will walk away with something that they can
immediately use in their classes. This is time well
spent! Additionally, the satisfaction of a small
“win” with that technology will likely push them
to use it again.

Time Means Everything

Another key to truly effective professional
development is time. It is a constant battle to
find time to work with new tools so it is critical
that you provide time during your session to
allow people to practice. Everyone needs time to
work through the skills that you’ve just taught.
Even the most tech savvy teachers like some
time to tinker with whatever new tool or ability
you’ve shown them. This gives the audience
time to run through ideas they may have and
in return, voice any questions or concerns they
may arise.

Record Your Sessions

Use the technology you have at your disposal
to record your presentations. This is a fantastic
way to begin building an in-house library of
professional development content. Additionally,
those who attend the session can look back on
what you did and exactly how you did it. You
can use a screen capture tool like Screencastify
to record your voice as well as your screen.
You can even choose to embed video from

The teachers who take this back to their
classroom need to feel supported. You’ll want to
provide your audience with all of the resources
they can go to for ongoing support. This can be
something simple like who they can email with
questions or it can be much more in-depth like
an online library of help videos. Whatever the
method is, make sure your teachers know they
have a place to turn to for answers.

Feedback

As you conclude your session, ask your
participants to fill out a short feedback
survey. The survey shouldn’t be more than
five questions. You’ll want to give them the
opportunity tell you what they liked about the
lesson, what they didn’t like, and how you
could refine your presentation. I recommend
you make the survey anonymous to encourage
honest feedback.

@askMsQ
A Design Thinking Approach to Education
By Sabba Quidwai
In the book Linchpin, author Seth Godin opens
by asking readers, “Are you a genius?” I’d like
to follow this question by asking you two more,
“Are you creative? Are you innovative?”
There may be mixed answers coming to mind.
Our initial response to these questions might
be to think that’s not me, that’s someone else
I know. Perhaps immediately images of Steve
Jobs, Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg come
to mind. Therein lies the one of the greatest
challenges we face as a community - our
own preconceived notions of these terms genius, creative, innovative. By embracing our
inner creative and innovative selves and by
continuing to enhance these skills, we act as
what Godin calls linchpins.
A linchpin is a pin passed through the end of
an axle to keep a wheel in position. It’s so
insignificant that most people don’t even know
it’s there but without it the wheel falls apart
and can’t operate. And when you translate
this into economics they are a person vital to
an organization. This is the ultimate creative
problem solver who we all want to have on our
team. Is anyone this all the time?
“No, no one is a genius all the time, but every
one is a genius sometimes,” says Godin.

I think all of us if we think hard enough can
remember a time where we were able to solve
a problem that no one else was able to. We
were able to help in a situation that no one else
was able to. Godin says that when we apply
our creativity to the work we are passionate
about we are creating art. It is through the
creation of this art that we are able to make a
difference in our work, in our organization, in
our field, in our community and maybe even in
our world. It’s about doing work that makes a
difference and it feels good!
The changes taking place so rapidly around
us as a result of advances in technology can
no longer wait for government and other
bureaucratic organizations to create the
circumstances that will foster an environment
that support the paradigm shift needed in
education. Our country can no longer survive
on just a few outliers being creative problem
solvers. We need everyone to bring out their
creative innovative selves. Unfortunately many
of us had not had much practice with this. Put
simply, as Ken Robinson would say, we have
been “schooled out of creativity.”
How then can we begin? As the challenges
and opportunities facing education grow more
complex design thinking is one framework we
can begin to apply that serves as an iterative
process that employs design-based techniques
to gain insight and yield innovative solutions for
any type of challenge that we face as we strive
to innovate and redesign learning for the 21st
century.
What differentiates design thinking from other
frameworks is that it asks users to start with
developing empathy. When trying to address
challenges we often immediately jump to the

solution first. Often times imposing our own
opinions and ideas upon others, ultimately
leading to solutions that are not sustainable.
By beginning with empathy you immediately
focus your attention upon the users and their
needs. It’s in this stage that often “what
we think” is challenged by “what we learn.”
It is these enlightening conversations and
research that allow us to understand what gaps
exist, allowing us to learn what needs to be
designed.
Once the initial empathy stage has been
completed, the second step is to define the
problem. This can be done in a short sentence
like this one for example, “WHO needs WHAT
because WHY.” This problem statement then
guides the rest of the design process by
creating a, “How Might We…” statement.
From here, you enter the ideation phase where
once again this framework sets itself apart
from traditional problem solving methods.
One reason why we often struggle to solve
problems is that we aim for the perfect
solution. Design thinking teaches that early
on the quantity of ideas you come up with is
greater than the quantity. You never know
which idea will pan out and which ideas may
merge together. It isn’t until the next stage,
prototyping, that you hone in on one idea and
build it out. As you test your prototype the key
is to fail fast and fail forward.
Design thinking is an iterative process and with
each test of your prototype you can continue to

refine your solution. Often times an initial test
will help refine the questions you ask of your
users.
By using the design thinking process to ask
“how might we…” we enhance and develop
this mindset and empower ourselves to be the
linchpins of our organizations. How might we
redesign the learning spaces in our classrooms
to encourage more creativity and collaboration?
How might we redesign professional
development days to allow teachers to create
interdisciplinary activities. How might we
redesign the school schedule to allow for
more project based learning? How might we
redesign school to create future citizens who
are indispensable to their organizations and
their communities. This is a responsibility, not
a choice. The success of our organizations,
strength of our economy and the sustainability
of our planet now demand that each and every
person take on this role.
To get started consider using the Design
Thinking Workbook for Educators developed by
IDEO.

@seanwhelantech
SAMR: A Look at How
We Integrate in the
Classroom

By Sean Whelan

A New Model for a New Era
Time is one of the most important
commodities in education. Teachers who
work hard in the profession, naturally
want to try new lesson ideas to reach
all learning styles. Time for lesson
analysis often winds up being factor in
understanding how to stretch and adjust
lessons to give the largest amount of
impact. The SAMR Model has only been
around a few years but gives teachers
an easy to use framework that drives
moving classroom activities to more
advanced levels of
instruction. By using
a framework to drive
planning, time can
be focused more on
the development and
growth of the lesson.
What is SAMR
anyway?
Developed by Dr.
Ruben Puentedura,
the SAMR Model
is a way to look at how technology is
currently used for classroom activities to
evaluate how to build towards the higher
levels of instruction that are often hard
to reach. SAMR is broken into 4 stages,
starting with substitution and ending with
redefinition.

A Practical Example
I recently had the opportunity to see
a few classrooms using Lucidchart for
word work with their students using
Chromebooks. It made me think on
where the various elements of the
activity would fall within the model.
Original Activity: Using the word root of
the week, students will create words,
write the definition and use it in a
sentence.
Substitution: Student using Lucidchart to
group words by the word root. Students
will write a definition and corresponding
sentence.
Augmentation: Students
do the same activity in
a shared Lucidchart.
Each student is color
coded. They each our
responsible for their own
words, definitions and
sentences but create
a team product with
the support of peer
collaboration.
Modification: Students
add pictures, audio and
video to explain practical use of the
words in their Lucidchart. When finished,
the team product is made available
to the class so students learn from
peer creations. These can be used for
classroom writing activities.

Redefinition: Lucidcharts become part
of a larger class created dictionary that
is used to create writing assignments
throughout the year. The goal being to
understand how vocabulary improves
message delivery in writing.
Encouraging Lesson
Analysis
In the current era of
changing standards and
evaluation, the focus on
criticism of education needs
to be balanced with building
of what teachers know is
being done right and benefits
students. The SAMR Model
embraces this. By starting
with substitution, teachers
can use this model to take
proven practice and plug it
into embedding technology
into their classroom. This makes it easy
to create lessons that are built off of a
strong foundation of student learning.
The model then provides an easy
method to analyze that same lesson
to allow for growth through the upper
levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy. This gives
teacher’s an encouraging way to bring
and enhance technology use in the
classroom. It also connects to a model
that teachers have been exposed to
during their early foundation.

SAMR is a benefit because it isn’t about
what is being done wrong in education.
It is about taking what works and
stretching it to high levels of instruction.
There is nothing wrong with substitution
of a great learning activity. Similarly,
not every lesson will achieve or need to

achieve redefinition. The model succeeds
in providing another avenue towards
reaching those higher levels. It’s a model
that is simple, smart and encouraging
without sacrificing critical analysis. If you
haven’t tried it, see how your lessons
can benefit from plugging them into the
model. Who knows where it may take
your instruction?
References:
http://www.schrockguide.net/samr.html
http://www.hippasus.com/rrpweblog/
https://www.graphite.org/blog/samr-andblooms-taxonomy-assembling-the-puzzle

@gorland2
When searching for new educational apps, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s helpful to have a few
key considerations in mind. Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s one way you can evaluate resources.
[Created by Giovanna Orlando with Canva]

@sdemichele
EdTech Anonymous: A
Twelve-Step Program to
Overcoming Your Fear of
Technology

fearfully and sometimes confidently--and
what they hope to share are their personal
experiences and own collaborative twelve steps
to success. Because like any solid twelve-step
program, it’s the shared stories that help us
persevere and eventually triumph.

By Stephanie DeMichele, Instructional
Technology Coordinator, Wickliffe City School
District
There are currently over 200 self-help
organizations (from Alcoholics Anonymous
to Overeaters Anonymous to Clutterers
Anonymous) that employ the renowned and
respected twelve-step guiding principles that
assist members in overcoming those particular
behaviors that stand in the way of personal
growth and progress. In short, the execution
of these steps serve as an instructional guide
for a comprehensive transformation. Of course,
I don’t dare to presume to possess either the
salience or the eminence of the founders of
the original twelve-step program, but as the
majority of my gig as an instructional coach
involves supporting the gradual integration
of technology into the curriculum, it occurred
to me that a structured and guided approach
was already being implemented by our more
deliberate and insightful teachers in Wickliffe.
It also occurred to me that an audience of
teachers most likely want to hear tried-and-true
advice from real-time educators. And hence this
story idea was born.
When it comes to educational technology and
21st-century learners, it seems that we allow
the fear of technology--or the fear of failing--to
impede our own progress. Every single teacher
I’ve coached has had that one soul-crushing
moment of “I can’t do that. It won’t work.”
While we’ve all been reluctant adopters at one
point or another, we can’t let our fear of failing
get in the way of our students’ path to success.
Perhaps the best way to transform trepidatious
teachers is to furnish a set of guidelines, or
our own twelve steps. The following teachers
in my district have taken steps to introduce
technology into their curriculum--sometimes

Mary McKeon (top left) is currently in her fifteenth year
teaching eighth grade science and language arts at WMS,
and in her seventeenth year of teaching. Wendy Dugan
(bottom left) is currently in her fourth year as a second
grade teacher, and in her nineteenth year at WES, having
previously taught technology and fourth grade. Logan
Moritz (top right) is in his fifth year as an English teacher
at WHS. He teaches Freshman composition and Film &
Music as Literature. Stephanie DeMichele (bottom right)
is in her second year as the Instructional Technology
Coordinator for the WCSD, having previously taught high
school English, gifted and talented, and technology.

Q: Do you remember the first time you
tried a new tech tool with which you weren’t
familiar?
Wendy: Oh, yes! I was teaching fourth grade
and was asked to use our building’s first
interactive whiteboard with my class. I was told,
“Hey, we can get this technology for you, but
you’re going to have to do this on your own,”
so I watched a lot of the video training and did
some of the chats, but it was the reaction of the
students that motivated me to learn more about
it--and to use it more effectively.
Mary: I remember using the CPS clickers; they
were very difficult to set up and figuring out

how to use them, so I didn’t use them again for
a while. I was disenchanted because it seemed
too hard. But then something better came along
and I tried that. You have to keep trying to find
something that works.
Logan: At my old district, we had an online
assessment program that also had a bunch
of features that you could use to create
assignments. It didn’t work very well, and there
were a lot of bugs. Overall, I guess it wasn’t a
very positive experience, but I still tried to put
my best foot forward. I saw the utility in it and
the potential it could have. I knew technology
would improve, and I looked for solutions to
take my classroom digital to prepare students
for the future.
Stephanie: It was 2008, and instead of writing
book reports, my students wanted to create a
shared wiki for their peers. I remember staying
up until 3:30 a.m. the night before, reading
the “rules” of how to create a wiki, checking
the FAQs, and basically making sure that, in
effect, I had all the answers for an air-tight
lesson. And then disaster struck when editing
and image issues arose and every student
looked to me for the answers. I panicked.
And then a student piped up, “Ms. D, I think I
figured out the problem!” He became the image
trouble-shooter; another student became the
editing trouble-shooter. Then another student
activated the social commentary function so
that they could all help each other. They were
empowered! From that moment on, whenever
I introduced a new technology tool, I let the
students be as much of the discovery process
as I was. I refer to it as a “teacher-bordered”
classroom.
Q: What’s your approach for introducing a
new educational technology tool?
Wendy: Students are not afraid of technology,
and they’re not afraid of making mistakes with
technology; they just seem to navigate their
way. A lot of times I’ll tell my students, “Hey,
I found this thing I want us to try,” and we
solve the problem together; it’s very motivating

for all of us. My philosophy is to leap before I
look; think later. The benefit of this is that by
taking risks and finding out things together, it
breathes new energy into teaching and learning.
We learn from our mistakes, so nothing is a
risk when you learn from it. I never find myself
saying “I wish I hadn’t done that.” Not knowing
how to do something never prevented me
from trying it. Any risks I’ve taken were either
a learning experience or a success; never a
failure. We need to remember we’re doing this
for our students. When you’re vulnerable, you’re
showing your students that you’re a learner,
too! Leaping makes us all learners.
Mary: I don’t know if it’s a personal approach,
but I find that in this day and age, students
are pretty good if you just point them in the
right direction. They’re able to figure out things
pretty quickly-- sometimes quicker than we can!
Logan: I feel like I have to get in and
experiment with it; playing in the sandbox is
the only way I’m going to learn how to use a
new tool. With the kids, I guess I take a similar
approach: I make sure that I know enough that
we can be productive in class, but I also like to
have the kids experiment with it. Nine times out
of ten, they already know pretty much how to
do whatever I’m asking them to do, and that
usually goes pretty well. If it doesn’t, then we
just call it a learning experience and we talk
about how to figure it out.
Stephanie: Find the tool, see how it fits into
what the students are learning, and let them
roam around with it like free-range hens. I
act like a border collie, gently guiding them
in the right direction (if there is such a thing
with creativity!), and encouraging them to be

Q: Can you share a recent story of
technology integration in the classroom?

collaborative in problem-solving. My favorite
part is when they teach me something new
about the tool or platform or app.
Q: What’s your philosophy: educational
technology tool or purpose first?
Wendy: While I have loads of tools I always
want to try, I think of the content standards.
One of the things about digital projects is
they’re more dynamic, and each activity we
try sparks a new idea. There are times when
we use a tool and the kids think of a different
way to use it with their learning as we move
forward. I love when they come up with ideas
on their own!
Mary: When I see something that might be
useful, I like to see if it will make my classroom
become more efficient. Whether it’s student
learning or grading or presenting, my first
concern is, will it help us get to where we need
to be?
Logan: I design my curriculum over the
summer and then try to find the best way
I can teach it, so I suppose I’m a purposefirst person. On the other hand, if somebody
suggests a new tool, I’m going to try to figure
out if it’s applicable to what I’m doing; if it is,
I’m going to at least try it once. I make it a
point to at least try things once.
Stephanie: Oh, I’ve always been a tool-first
teacher, and I realize that causes curriculum
leaders to clutch their pearls in horror, but I’m
such a tech tool junkie! I subscribe to at least
ten blogs, so I’m never at a loss for new things
to try. However, instructional design is my
passion, so once I find a new tool to test out,
I adopt the SAMR approach with it and find a
way to integrate it into something we’re already
doing.

Wendy: Because my students use apps like
Tellagami, Seesaw, and PuppetEDU, they’ve
been invited to go into other classrooms
and grade levels as tech leaders. When the
students take leadership roles, it boosts their
self-esteem. We have a growth mindset in our
classroom: we believe that the brain can grow
and change by taking on challenges, and that
our classroom is a safe place to make mistakes.
Mary: I was helping my son study for
midterms, and I came across cK-12.org. It’s
a tool that his teachers recommended to help
him study. What piqued my interest about it
was the number of topics at different levels-and it’s better than worksheets. It has good
videos embedded in the lessons and has various
activities for the students to use for each topic.
The practice tools and activities really help my
students master the material.
Logan: The high school’s adoption of Google
Classroom has been interesting. I didn’t really
know what that was going to look like because
I had never used it before, so I just played with
it, and I created an assignment. It went very
smoothly.
Stephanie: I was recently invited by a
Kindergarten teacher to introduce Seesaw--a
digital journaling tool--to her students. Now, I’m
a big believer that our 21st century students
are intuitively tech-savvy, but I have to admit
that I was blown away by how quickly they
figured out screenshots, audio, and video with
very little adult direction. Once they completed
their assignment, we let them play in the digital
sandbox, and their creativity was insanely
astounding. I wish I had recorded them as they
discovered and created. It’s a much-needed
reminder that learners today are much, much
different than they used to be.

Stephanie DeMichele is the Instructional Technology Coordinator for Wickliffe City Schools, a former high school English teacher,
and a former gifted and talented coordinator who developed a paperless classroom providing for authentic learning opportunities.
Her passion is the curriculum integration of engaging educational technologies. Sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the underappreciated mom to two teenage
boys, a rabid U2 fan, and an avid Netflix and Hulu binger. You can connect with Stephanie on Twitter @sdemichele or at her website:
techknowteacher.weebly.com

@ericcurts

Professional Development is my thing.
As a Technology Integrationist, I provide
training to about 30 school districts in northeast
Ohio. As a Google for Education Certified
Trainer, I conduct Google professional
development sessions all around Ohio and
across the country. So it is safe to say I think
quite a lot about training and what makes it
good, what makes it bad, and what can make it
better.
In addition to being a Google trainer, I am also
a “Cord Cutter”. For those not familiar with
the term, this means I am one of the growing
population of people who has cancelled cable
television and now gets all of our media through
streaming services including Netflix, Hulu,
Amazon Prime, Google Play, iTunes, and such.
Not only has this changed the method through
which I get my entertainment, it has also altered
the pace of how I view TV series with the ability
to binge watch a show in a weekend.
Recently I was considering this and began to
see a connection between my changing
viewing habits and professional
development. See below for an explanation
of this insight, and some ideas for how we can
learn from this to improve the professional
development we provide as trainers, and
the professional development we receive as
learners.

By Eric Curts
Binge Watching
Netflix has a unique way of releasing television
shows. This applies to shows that have already
aired on regular TV, as well as the shows that
Netflix creates specifically for its own network
such as Daredevil, Orange is the New Black,
House of Cards, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,
and others.
When Netflix is ready
to release a new
season of a show
they simply release
the entire season all
at one time. Boom!
13 episodes. 22
episodes. However
many episodes
there are in the
season, everything is
available to watch at once.
This has lead to what many people call “binge
watching”. Instead of having to wait a week (or
more) between episodes of your favorite show,
you can watch as many as you want as quickly
as you can. It is not uncommon for someone
to binge an entire season over the course of a
week, or a few days, or even a single weekend.

(search frequency for “binge” in the United States “Arts and Entertainment” category
While I have never been able to consume that much media in a weekend, I certainly take advantage
of access to an entire series. I often tie my Netflix or Hulu viewing with a daily run on the elliptical
machine, allowing me to knock off one episode per day of Jessica Jones, rather than spending the
eight or nine months the season would normally have lasted.
And I love the binge option. It is great to have the freedom to watch a season at my pace and within
my schedule.
However, sometimes I feel like something is missing.

Traditional Seasons
Before binge watching was such an easy option, the most common way to view a television series
was one week at a time. Even if we recorded the shows to DVD (or
videotape way back in the day) we still had to wait a week (or more)
in between episodes to see what happened next. And of course this
is still true for new shows on traditional network and cable television.
Although it can be frustrating to wait a week in between episodes
of a favorite show, there are actually some interesting benefits to
that arrangement. To illustrate this, let’s consider one of my all time
favorite shows that I had to watch in week-by-week format when it
first came out ... Lost.
Lost was a fantastic show full of mysteries, complex characters, lots
of questions, and not many answers. It is a show that I became
deeply invested in. I often wonder now, if Lost had been available all
at once to binge watch, would I have become so connected to the
show. Here’s why…
Since Lost only came out every week or so, I had lots of time in
between episodes to think about the show I had just watched. In
the week or two I waited for the next episode I did many things to dig deeper into the show:
• I went online and read reactions from other fans in online forums. I would learn about their
theories, their predictions, and bits of clues that I may have missed when I watched the episode.
• I subscribed to and listened to Lost-themed podcasts. Again this exposed me to the ideas of

other viewers, and sometimes even included
interviews with the cast or writers for some
inside scoop.
• I debated and discussed the latest episode
with coworkers, friends, and family. It was the
“watercooler talk” at the office.
• Sometimes I rewatched the episode to see
something I may have missed the first time
through.
• And of course I thought a lot about the show
and developed my own theories.
As a result I became much more involved in the
show, remembered more from past episodes,
got more out of new episodes, and to this day
still consider its themes and stories.

However, I can’t help but wonder if we lose
some benefits when we stop at “one and done”.

Professional Development

Lately I have had the privilege to begin offering
more and more such trainings. One example is a
technology integration “course” that lasts over a
period of four or more months. Over that period
of time I get to meet with the participants
multiple times in person, as well as connecting
online.
•
The teachers learn about technology
integration models, standards,
and tools.
•
They develop a project for
their students that integrates
technology on a higher level.
•
They get feedback and
suggestions for the group to help
design the activity.
•
They conduct the project
with their students.
•
They come back to share
with the group how the project
went, including the good, the
bad, and how to improve the
activity for the future.
This sort of extended PD
builds relationships, a deeper
understanding of the technology topics, a
practical application of the concepts, and a
strong foundation to build upon for future
growth.

So how do these two methods of consuming
television shows relate to professional
development?
First, I would argue that a lot of technology
professional development is much like binge
watching a Netflix TV series.
That is, most PD is often “one
and done”.
• You may go to a tech
conference for one or two
days, consume a wide range
of technology sessions, and
then head home.
• You may come to one of
my Google Boot Camps in
the summer for four or five
days of intense Google Apps
training, and then continue on
with your summer plans.
• You may watch one of my
edtech webinars, and then go
about your day.
Just like binge watching a Netflix show, there
is nothing inherently wrong with this model.
We are so fortunate to have so many high
quality options for technology professional
development, and many that are flexible enough
to fit into our busy schedules.

Just like watching Lost one week at a time, how
much more investment and impact can we get
by extending professional development over a
period of time? What if we have time to process
what we have learned, to share our ideas with
others, to hear what others have discovered, to
test out and apply the new concepts, to have
a continuing thread of inquiry over a period
of time, to have expectations to come back
and build upon what we have begun? How
much more would that transform our teaching
practice?

Extend - Don’t Just Binge
So how can we apply these ideas as providers of PD and/or as learners? Below are three options to
consider for improving professional development.
1) Look for extended opportunities
When possible, look for or create professional development
opportunities that carry on for a length of time. They could
be in person, online, or a hybrid of both. Meetings could be
weekly, monthly, or on some other recurring schedule. Common
examples may be book studies, online courses, study groups,
and more. Whatever the case, the focus should be on learning,
practicing, reflecting, and building on what you have learned.
2) Share with your PLN
Another option, regardless of the PD you partake in, is to share
what you learn with your Personal Learning Network (PLN). Just
like the “watercooler talk” for Lost, share your new ideas with
other educators on Twitter, Google+, Facebook, Edmodo, and other social networks. Not only will you
help others with the resources you share, but many times they will help you stretch and grow with
their perspectives.
3) Apply what you learn
Finally, there is nothing wrong with any form of PD as long as you do something with it. Go to that
conference, attend that boot camp, watch that webinar. Just make sure you apply what you have
learned. Challenge yourself to take the new ideas from the PD and apply them in your classroom,
test them out, reflect on them, and then take those ideas into your next session. In effect you will be
building your own extended course where you work toward your own personal learning goals.

Conclusion
As I mentioned before, I really am glad that Netflix allows me to watch a show as quickly or slowly
or sporadically as fits my schedule. Likewise we are so fortunate to have so many professional
development opportunities to fit our needs, interests, and lives.
I just want to encourage everyone to look for and to create professional development that gives us
time to process what we have learned, apply the concepts in a practical way, reflect on the process,
and build upon our growth.
Now if you don’t mind, season 2 of Daredevil is streaming on Netflix and I have some watching to do!
(Note: If you are looking for free edtech professional development, please feel free to check out my
webinars at www.controlaltachieve.com/webinars Just make sure to apply what you learn!)

@mr_johansson

When I first heard of Twitter, I dismissed it as yet another time sink, one that I would
never get any use from, and one that I should probably stay away from. I was a high
school teacher at the time, teaching social studies (mostly US History and Economics)
at Nordonia High School. Some of my students suggested I should sign up, and I
promptly dismissed them.

And then something happened. I reached a wall, in terms of resources. As a new
teacher, and one that wanted to innovate, reach new highs, and bring the world to my
students, Twitter opened those doors for me. I can’t remember now how I made the
leap of faith to get started, but once in, I was hooked. Resources, connections, ideas
– all started to flow into my Twitter stream. I was no longer alone*, and could share
with and learn from anyone, anytime – even teachers from other continents. So much
potential.
*You’re really never alone… and I had plenty of help, colleagues, and others to support
my journey as a beginning teacher. But in terms of reaching out, and connecting with
thousands, Twitter is unmatched.
And then I found the Twitter chats. I started meeting regularly with other social
studies teachers in #sschat on Monday nights to discuss anything under the sun –
assessment, units of study, resources to teach history, and sharing everything. If you

haven’t experienced a Twitter chat, you’re really missing out, as lots of people, just
like you, meet in the Twitterverse every day to discuss exactly the same problems (and
solutions) you’re facing.
Once I really started tapping into the many benefits of Twitter, it served as a go-to for
lots of projects, resources, and ideas. On multiple occasions, when an activity failed
in first period, I would ask for assistance and help from my PLN on Twitter, and 7-10
people would get right back to me with courses of action. It was like having a coach,
right there in my pocket, for all things teaching social studies. Wonderful.
Over the years, I’ve used Twitter differently. No longer in the classroom, I now use
Twitter to connect with other professionals in the same field as I am, communicate in
the backchannel for whatever conference or meeting I’m attending (using #hashtags,
of course), but more than anything, sharing all the wonderful things we do in my
current district. Twitter is one of the fastest, most transparent tools for getting the
message out. I can snap a photo of a wonderful activity, and tweet it for the world to
see in less than 30 seconds. What’s not to love?
Sure, you say… “I don’t
wanna know what you had for
breakfast!” And that’s fair. I
seldom share things from my
personal life, but when I do, it’s
for the sole benefit of sharing
with society, a greater group, to
grow one other person, to grow
many, and most of all, to grow
myself as a person and global
citizen. It’s about responsibility,
more than anything else. Come
on, the bread I bake is delicious,
and you know you want some…

Twitter is a life changer.
Something not to ignore. Powerful. Dangerous. Just like the ice in Frozen. But so worth
it. If you haven’t started, you’re looking at unlimited, unrealized potential. And that’s
nothing to trifle with. So get started today. Sign up, start sharing – it’s only when data
becomes universally accessible that we all benefit. Good or bad. Just do it. Here’s to
another 10K tweets – can’t wait to see where I’ll be then.

Who to Follow??
Sometimes it’s really tough to find that one particular Twitter feed that will change the way you
approach a topic, a system, or your thinking. Sometimes it’s not a person, but a group that helps
you grow as a professional. Sometimes you don’t even follow the person you gained some much
appreciated advise or suggested from, but you participated in an EdChat. This page was created
to just give a few ideas about different people/groups/chats to follow to improve your instructional
technology use and leadership. Although it would be nice to have a bio for each person, it is
important that you check out the different accounts and determine if it’s someone you’d like to
follow and not have a “bias” based on any bio someone would share! You are going to be pleased
you did!

By Alex Mier, Vytas Saldunas and Jason Pinoniemi
Over the last four years, with the backing
and full support of administrators,
Beachwood has revolutionized its
infrastructure and support framework. This
was made possible through teamwork and
this consistent approach: address the
task so that it done right the first time,
is future proof, and most importantly,
addresses the needs of the school. The
first step to make this possible is to build
a solid foundation for the department,
including good documentation, a solid
service desk ticketing solution, real-time
24x7x365 monitoring, and open lines of
communication between educators and IT
personel. At Beachwood, all staff members
can access the helpdesk at any time with a
toll free number, or via email to the service
directly. In this way all service requests are

captured, an alert is sent to the team for
the new request, and then it is assigned to
the appropriate resources.
Beachwood uses the best of both solutions
to track all things IT. User requests are
managed as a service ticket and will stay
open until the contactâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s request has been
satisfied. The system is also vital for
documentation of procedures, renewals,
support vendors details, licensing, and
much more. There is no greater obstacle
to quickly completing tasks in IT than a lack
of information or documentation. Although
this is not a glamorous aspect of IT, it is the
most important step and often overlooked
as it is time consuming In addition,
Beachwood has the most advanced
automation and monitoring solutions
available. Beachwood has
automated solutions deployed
for lighting, camera, HVAC,
physical access, and digital
signage systems. Automation,
when possible, is leveraged
to reduce administration costs
and reaction times enabling
Beachwood to be more efficient
and environmentally friendly.
By properly identifying and
addressing inefficiencies
within the IT infrastructure,
Beachwoodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Data Center uses
80% less power and cooling
then it did four years ago while
providing more than three
times more resources, and
500% more bandwidth. To
ensure educators have access

and teachers and staff know it will be
connected with a reliable network.

to the tools they need, when they need it,
Beachwood leverages a highly availability
virtual infrastructure and a robust network.
They are monitored and managed in real
time 24x7x365 by both Beachwood’s and
NetOps Consulting teams who work hard to
ensure best practices are being adhered to
across all seven layers of technology. Many
other IT Departments will only leverage
these tools to lock down or restrict the
students and staff. Beachwood allows
more freedom then most IT departments.
Restrictions are limited to preventing clear
security issues and inappropriate content.
The focus is to provide as much access
for students to technology and electronic
information as possible. Beachwood has
a state of the art wireless infrastructure
providing high speed Internet access for the
students and the community. This provides
the opportunity to incorporate technology,

Beachwood is dedicated to ensure the
students have all the resources they need to
receive the highest quality education. This
unique collaboration between Beachwood
staff and NetOps Consulting has allowed
Beachwood Schools to embrace IT and
reach its goal of ensuring there is no ceiling
or barrier to what the students can do or
achieve. There is no doubt Beachwood IT
staff, students, educators, and administrators
embraces this challenge and work every day
to keep Beachwood technology on the front
line of excellence.
Please contact Beachwood Schools if you’d
like more information.
Vytas Saldunas started at Beachwood Schools
in 2011. He has been working in the IT field
for 19 years, and in schools for 15 years.
Vytas has a Master’s Degree in Network
and Communications Management. He is
a Google Enterprise Admin, Certified Apple
Tech, Microsoft MCP, ChromeBook Technician,
Apple Mobile Device Technician and Network
Technician.
Jason Pinoniemi started working at
Beachwood Schools in 2011. He has been
working in the IT field for 17 years and in
schools for 16 years. Jason has a Associates
Degree in Electronics with ITT. He is a
Certified Google Enterprise Admin, Certified
Apple Technician, Windows Technician, and
ChromeBook Technician.
Alex Mier started consulting for Beachwood
in 2009. He has been working in the IT
field for 23 years, and in school for 6 years.
For Beachwood he is a Wireless Architect
and an Engineer in Networking, Server
Infrastructure, and Storage.